Research Tours: Information for Teachers

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR LIBRARY VISIT

The MCPL Children's Department staff is eager to work with teachers. By working together, we can provide your students with a successful research experience.

Research tour basics

Our research tour, designed for elementary grades, allows time for library instruction and for independent exploration.

The tour will take at least 90 minutes. Allow 2 hours if the students will be checking out materials.

Research tours are most effective when the librarians know ahead of time what topics the students have chosen or have been assigned. Librarians can then tailor your program. By providing specialized resources and, at your request, pulling books ahead of time to assure that all students will have at least one resource on their chosen topics.

If you are a teacher who would rather bring students to the library for independent study (without a formal tour) a courtesy call would be appreciated.

What does a research tour cover?

Children's librarians will try to customize tours based on the requested topics and needs of the class, but in general, the areas covered in a research tour may include :

how to use the MCPL catalog : basic searching and advanced search strategies
use of print reference sources : general and specialized encyclopedias, almanacs, atlases, and other pertinent sources
electronic reference sources : includes magazine and newspaper databases and many other reference tools
internet searching, including MCPL's "Homework Help" page
a brief tour of the children's department with an emphasis on locating helpful resources

How to book a tour at MCPL

Book a tour either by calling the Children's Department at 349-3100 or using the online form at http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/childrens/visit.html . You'll be asked some general questions (such as best day of the week for your class), then the librarians will check the departmental program schedule to confirm your tour time.

Please note that the tours must be scheduled at least two weeks in advance.

Sometimes, teachers wish to spend a large part of the day researching in the library, and would like a place for students to eat lunch. The library has meeting rooms that may be booked by the public at no charge. Reserve a room by calling administrative assistant Sue Sater at 349-3050. Reservations must be made one week in advance.

Teachers' responsibilities

Before the tour

After your tour has been confirmed, librarians will provide teachers with a checklist of responsibilities. You'll be instructed where to FAX or email information required, such as :

An alphabetical list of students in your class with their birthdates. Please do this as soon as possible!
Library card applications for those students who do not have cards. Please do this at least 1 week before your tour.
A list of your students' topics of research. Please include as much clarifying information as possible. Do this as soon as possible if you would like librarians to locate materials for your students' research success.

The above information makes effective use of your library time. It also enables us to deal with any potential problems (fines on students' library cards, for instance) before the day of the tour.

The day of the tour

A bus pull-in is provided in front of the library on Kirkwood Avenue. Please bring students to the first floor children's department.

All students should bring a paper and a pencil or pen. Some teachers ask students to bring additional materials, such as research assignment papers, clipboards, computer discs, etc.

Tips on preparing students

NOTE: The MCPL "Student Research Guide" will help students to organize the research process. It can be found at: http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/childrens/resguide.html
Teachers may feel free to print out this form and distribute as needed.

Getting started : choosing a topic Experience has shown that students will have a much more productive library excursion if they have given their topic some thought before arriving. Teachers might wish to brainstorm with students and approve a topic before tour day.
Concerned that a topic might be too obscure or narrow for a student's project? You might consider accessing the library's catalog in your classroom. This will give you some idea of the library's holdings on a particular subject. The MCPL catalog will be found at : http://mcpl.monroe.lib.in.us/
Another good search strategy is to help students think of words that relate to their topic. For instance, terms relating to "pioneers" might include : settlers, Oregon Trail, gold rush, and many others.
Focusing in on a topic
After choosing a topic, students may wish to give some thought to the scope of their research. Help students to think about "What do I hope to learn about my chosen subject?" Making a list or idea web helps students to focus more effectively and makes the project less overwhelming.
Selecting appropriate research tools During the library tour, we'll talk about the different types of sources of information and how they can be used.
Students will want to keep in mind the types of information that might be useful to their unique topics. Besides text on their subjects, what other types of information would be helpful? Maps? Charts? Photos? etc.
Citing sources Please remind students before they begin their research that they should keep notes on where they found each bit of information. Author, title, publisher, and year of publication will provide for their bibliography and will help them to find the source again if needed.
Some general information on citing a variety of information formats can be found on the MCPL children's department website at : http://monroe.lib.in.us/childrens/cite.html